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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LYT SONIC (Smart Home security device based on infrasound detection technology)

Teaser

Summary

The growing concern for domestic crimes, with a home burglary taking place every 1,5 minutes in Europe, is challenging the Smart Home Security market to provide European householders with tried and true security solutions. This issue is sharpened by the +85% share of EU households (186M private households) that still do not have a home security device installed (Berg Insight, 2016). The main reasons for this scarce penetration of home security devices are the upfront costs (ranging from a minimum of 250â‚¬ up to more than 1200â‚¬-1500â‚¬) and the high share of home renters (30.6% the European population) who are not prone to invest on someone elseâ€™s property. (Eurostat Housing Statistics, 2015)
However, the wind of change is blowing through the traditional home security industry and the 25-year dated technology of traditional security devices, and IoT innovation is thrilling the stable home security market, traditionally dominated by a few players. New business players are entering the competitive arena with a host of hardwired, wireless, and compact self-contained Smart Security systems, embedding motion detectors, door/window sensors, and video cameras.
However, the latest market researches on consumersâ€™ expectations emphasise a gap between what is currently available and the consumersâ€™ quest for affordable, reliable, easy to use and stylish home devices. False alarms heavily count on the overall amount of home interventions by security services, mainly due to users using a system incorrectly, pets triggering sensors and power issues.
Pricing, aesthetics, and difficulty to use are keeping mainstream customers away from new generation self-contained alarms (Canary, Nest Cam, Piper, to name but a few).
Winning the smart home security challenge means blending usability, reliability, cost-effectiveness and design, to drive even non-tech-enthusiasts in this new market arena. It is time to move on and shake up existing crystallized perceptions around security management, providing Europeans with the opportunity to monitor safety of their homes the same way they check work e-mails and social media conversations: as a routine for their peace of mind.

Work performed

LYT Sonic is a smart home security device that combines home lighting and safety management by integrating an innovative infrasonic detection technology into a smart LED bulb, to be easily plugged into any lamp holder end/or socket, and coming with a captivating design for home interiors.
Despite a number of companies have been pioneering the same infrasonic detection technology with still limited success, our solution has proven to be reliable, ease to use and affordable.
LYT SONIC infrasonic wavesâ€™ sensor is able to collect environmental sounds and, through a WiFi connection, transmit them to a software application with a machine learning algorithm able to analyse the event, discriminate false and true alarms, and control both the alarm system and home lighting.
A 100% accurate and precise warning capacity has been proven, with LYT Sonic fully detecting the precise source of a potential dangerous event occurring to the home from doors and windows.
Newly arranged algorithms are in the pipeline to further lower the limited occurrence of false alarms, and allow the device to play well in environments were Wi-Fi is limited, reducing cloud storage and time to data analysis (a one-hundred-factor reduction reached).
The overall user experience has been successfully validated by potential end-users, with both the technology and the value proposition proven to be innovative and well-grounded. LYT Sonic is positively perceived as a security and lighting all-in-one solution, manageable from a one single interface. The device is well-designed and intuitive, furthermore the enticing total cost of ownership only requires a one-time 120-140â‚¬ expense to cover an entire 150 m2 house. An even higher perceived value has been recognized to LYT Sonic by gathering feedback through a survey via Facebook, with the e-commerce channel resulting as the most preferred shopping mode.
The Regulatory framework has been analyzed with reference to the processing and security of usersâ€™ personal data. The newly issued EU Regulation 2016/679 (entering in force from May 2018) has been addressed to understand and further manage main issues that are going to affect strategic and operative procedures of companies in the smart home sector. We have envisaged main changes that are likely occurring, so to avoid any obstacle to the full market exploitation of LYT Sonic over the next years.
All information collected will enable the knowledge baseline for the completion of the Phase 2 project. This will revolve around the complete industrialization of LYT Sonic and its successful roll-out through a market strategy mixing different distribution channels. We aim to make the market growing up by a new value curve targeted to attract existing non-users, primarily European renters.

Final results

LYT Sonic aims at changing the the way home security is delivered for the peace of mind of a higher number of European householders. Its proposition leverages realiability, ease of use and price, so to provide final users with higher value. With respect to competing security solutions, LYT Sonic delivers a reduced total cost of ownership embedded into a) limited economic effort, as positioned among low price smart home security devices requiring neither installation and/or maintenance fee nor subsctiption fees, b) learning and skill requirements that are necessary to make LYT Sonic running easily and well at home, with a process completely automated and painless for the user.
On the contrary, alternative products to LYT Sonic are primarily arranged as expensive and professionally installed and monitored systems, that come with sensors working through different technologies, and connected via cable (hardwired) or wirelessly to a central unit. They require drilling hole in the walls and need a technician for the installation, as well as periodic maintenance, which raises the overall costs.
Above all, hardwired systems are not portable, while wireless systems have to be customized to the house in which they operate, thus requiring a technician and possibly new sensors/material in case of home moving. For sensors meant to be installed and set up by the end-user, these are far from being reliable as the systems installed by professionals, and their price is substantial. They are portable, but the installation process is to be repeated from scratch. Furthermore, the sensors have to be monitored because they often deteriorate or need battery replacement.
Another emerging category of home security solutions include self-contained devices, mostly based on motion and/or sound detection, and usually come with a video camera. Their price seems relatively affordable for each unit (Nest Cam, Canary, Piper), but several cameras are necessary for covering the entire house, and they usually come with a subscription fee for video storage.
As well, devices working through subsonic technology are not still fully exploited, and infrasounds are mainly used as a complementary technology, together with motion and sound detection, in self-contained security products (e.g. iMagic or Cocoon). The current producers reached a development level that is expected to be further proved in terms of reliability.
The current market scenario, indeed, indicates that there is room for our subsound technology, which would ensure us a clear competitive advantage based on LYT Sonicâ€™s reliability and maturity, so making it comparable to those of a professional perimeter security system.